The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-01-19
CASTOR BEANS.
A LEADING INDUSTRY IN TWO
ILLINOIS COUNTIES.
Preparing the Ground and Planting
Harvest Scenes-Popping the
Beans Pressing Out the
Oil-Using the Refuse.

Beans - Pressing Out the
Oil-Using the Refuse.
In Southern Illinois the castor bean
acreage is over 10000, Jefferson and
Franklin counties having perhaps the
largest amount of territory used in rails
ing the article. A Chicago Tribune cor
respondent, writing from Centralia, says:
A soil that will answer for wheat or
corn will suffice for the castor bean.
Wet, heavy soils cannot be utilized. The
sandy loan is always preferable. Soil
for the planting of beans should be pre-
pared about the same as for corn or
wheat. The ground is laid off in rows
six feet apart, the seventh row being
omitted to allow q vehicle to pass through
to gather the beans when ripe.
The seeds are put into very warm
water and allowed to remain twenty-four
hours before being put into the ground.
Unless this is done they do not germinate
properly and are long time showing
themselves above the ground. Some
people take the precaution to put sew
eral unsoaked seeds into hill for fear
the cut worms may take the first to
sprout, and the other will eventually
take their place. Planting eight seeds
to hill bushel will plant fifteen to
twenty acres, and the planting should be
done after frost time. as frost quickly
destroys the plant. The cultivation of
the growing crop is about the same as
corn, the weeds being destroyed and the
earth kept open and mellow. When the
plants have received good start the
number in each hill is reduced to one or
two. One strong, healthy plant will
produce better results than two in the
same hill. When the plant reaches the
height of two feet it is capable of its own
care and needs no more attention, except
after heavy rains, which make it neces-
sary to 60 through the field with cult
vator, breaking the crust which has been
formed.
When August comes in the leans be-
gin to ripen. They are produced in pods
or husks on spikes of various lengths,
and should be gathered as soon as the
pods begin to turn brown to prevent
their loss by popping out on the ground,
as beans when ripe pop or burst from the
pod and fly off quite distance. They
are gathered by cutting off the entire
spike, of which each plant has num-
Der, being produced and ripened in sue
cession until frost. Of course none but
the brown pods are cut. These spikes
are then thrown into a wagon or sled
passing through the broad rows and
hauled away to the popping-yard, which
is made on piece of land near the bean
field, sloping to the south so as to get as
much benefit from the sun as possible.
There are two ways of making the pop
ping yards. By some the sod is cut off
and the ground rolled down hard and
fence made around the yard to keep the
popping beans from getting away. An
other plan-and that is considered best
is to build big floor, around which
muslin or canvas to the hight OF. ten feet
is run, the top being left open to admit
the sun. The spikes are placed on the
floor, the action of the sun makes them
pop, and they are kept turned and
stirred up until the beans have all left
the husks. The same process is gone
through with until the entire crop has
thus been shelled. Care must be taken
not to allow the beans to get wet, as it
ruins them. The mass of husks and
beans, after the popping process is over,
is put into fanning-mill and cleaned,
when the beans are ready for the mar
ket. Board floors are best because they
prevent the mixing in of small stones
and bits of earth, which cannot be taken
out with the tanning mill. The floors
are generally painted black, the idea be-
ing that black draws the sun. After the
beans begin to ripen the field is gone
over about twice a week until frost.
This work is done mostly by children, in
which so many Southern Illinois families
are so prolific, some having as many as
twenty three in a family. Three brothers
down here have between them seventy
two children, who have probably gath
cred enough beans in a day to furnish
physic for the earth.
The yield depends much upon the at
tention the plants have received from
the cultivator, upon the season, and
upon the care exercised in ripening and
gathering. From fifteen to twenty-f
bushels to the acre is the average. 1t IS
claimed that farmers do well in raising
this crop, as it is more remunerative
than many Others It is not a difficult
crop to get to market, and can be taken
by team or sent by river or railroad.
The proprietors of the oil-works at
Belleville get beans almost by the train
load, as high as twenty carloads stand
ing on the tracks at one time. The near
farmers haul them in in wagons, upon
the arrival of which at the works they
are weighed in bulk on wagon scales.
The beans are tested by having a guam
tity put into testing machine holding
about half gallon. n prime bean mnst
weigh forty-six pounds, or at least not
less than forty-two pounds to the bushel.
under forty-two down to
thirty eight is called No. bean. The
beans having been tested as to their
weight as they come in, the quantity 80
tested is put into sieve and all the re-
fuse taken out and put back in the tester,
which gives the percentage of refuse in
100 pounds. From the number of
pounds a man has in his wagon this per
centage of refuse is deducted. The
average is 4 per cent.
The castor. bean is bought according
to the rules of the st. Louis Exchange.
When a lot of, say, twenty carloads
comes in, small sack is file | with
beans from all the cars and sent to the
inspector at St. LOUIS. He makes
report, giving, the percentage of refuse,
and on the basis of this inspection the
entire cargo is taken and paid for at the